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In reply to Post #15
I think you have to embrace the patina of well used cork, I actually don't like it that much when it's bright and new  one of my barbel rods is around 15 years old, still sporting a blood stain from me slipping and smashing my nose on a branch on its first outing 
It was actually quite a lucky rod after that 
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In reply to Post #1
Full duplon or cork for me with a fuji dps reel seat. When playing a fish I find the thicker handles of cork or duplon to rest better against my underarm.
Flared front on cork handles and short cone on duplon, but that is just cosmetics.
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In reply to Post #13
My preference too, had 7 Harrison rods built up like this including float rod, can be a bit cold on the forearm though in colder conditons. I have cork handled match feeder rods too, they look good but invariably they get stained and look a mess, but that's the sign of a well used rod I suppose!
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In reply to Post #11
I may be wrong but didn’t some off the shelf Infinities Have this build.
Practical yes but as for looks 🤔
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I have always favoured the abbreviated style handles, shows off more of the blank, I have Horizon x5’s and I think they’re the best looking, and usually it’s the cheaper option 🤷🏻♂️
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I would say 70% of the rods i build are jap shrink, the rest being cork, hardly anyone asks for duplon these days , alps reel seats i hate them , despite looking nice they are cold and are hard to keep clean due to design.all my own rods have trusty fuji reel seats.I built myself three 13ft 4lb t.c ballista rods for piking on a big loch with just a rubber butt cap and stainless collars and they look surprisingly cool.Its a personal choice .
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Full duplon with a small gap between the reel seat and the duplon so the blank can sit into small butt rests. This way everything is minimal on the bankware side of things & the duplon handle acts as a stop to stop the rod being dragged forward on the rod support (bit like the peg or stop used on some Nash rods underneath or on custom builds with the Steve Neville stainless peg).
Similar to the image below (this was where I got the idea to have mine done as thought it was both a practical solution and a good look to my eyes.
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Cork with black reel seat
Full duplon without alps as they’re awful looking
Alternatively just the reel seat with a little duplon either side and nothing else just a black butt cap
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In reply to Post #7
Got my vote as well.
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She loves a bit of cork..
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Shrink tube with a flared end is my choice and a nice stainless button to finish it off.
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In reply to Post #1
I'm with the others who choose cork. I had 2 rods made for me by Cotswold Rods, and they have burgundy blanks, cork handles, and my name inscribed on the blank. I love 'em!
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Cork, burgundy blank
Cork chestnut blank
Cork, raw blank with burgundy whippings
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In reply to Post #1
Cork every day of the week ... so damn sexy  
Cork plus chestnut blank, does it for me
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General Carp Discussion